Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: slander definition, burden of proof and legal recourse

You can sue for defamation. You would have to prove that it is more likely than not that you were defamed by the defendant(s). Measuring your damages could be difficult.

Re: slander definition, burden of proof and legal recourse

While in principle you could bring a slander lawsuit, there are a few obstacles you may be unable to overcome. First, your damages will be very hard to measure, which will make it hard to persuade any attorney to represent you on a contingency basis. Next, even if you could prove substantial damages, these students probably don't have enough money to pay them. This also will get in the way of hiring a lawyer. Then there is what the law calls the "common interest" privilege, which bars defamation judgments when both the speaker and the listener share a substantial interest in the subject matter. A professor and his students have a common interest in maintaining their program's reputation and integrity, and the courts might find that the common interest privilege bars your suit.

You will have to prove by a preponderence of the evidence (i.e., you must persuade the jury that it is more likely true than false) that (1) the defendants made these statements; (2) the statements were false; (3) a third party heard them; and (4) your reputation was damaged as a result. Your recovery will be limited unless you can also prove that you were harmed in a distinct manner, e.g. by loss of income or exlusion from a program you otherwise would have been able to join.

Proving falsity can be tricky. You say that you have "the entire stock of photos" to disprove the accusation, but how is anyone to know whether it actually is the entire stock? You could have taken additional photos and simply put them somewhere else. The jury might believe the women and doubt your story.

Did your professor believe these statements? If not, then you have no case (unless others have been told the same thing). If he does believe them, have you tried to convince him the accusations are untrue? You have a legal obligation to make reasonable efforts to mitigate your damages before you sue; if you fail to do so, the court will probably award you only the damages you would have suffered if you had tried some damage control.

Finally, even if the professor does believe these women, how does his belief hurt you? You can't just tell the jury you would have become a success and that now you won't; you have to be able to prove your claim.

But you should also consider whether you are overreacting to these charges. College students say and do things like this all the time. All but the most serious such allegations are usually forgotten once the student graduates. Unless you're planning to seek a top-secret security clearance, there may be no reason to worry about this.

You don't sound like the kind of person who can just shrug off a minor insult, but you might want to give it a try. It's a useful skill to have in life.